


Keith-ink-month-tober

by adverbialstarlight



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: idk what's going to happen so what's the point of tags really
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-01
Updated: 2018-10-03
Packaged: 2019-07-23 09:03:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16155896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adverbialstarlight/pseuds/adverbialstarlight
Summary: I am stupid and combine 3 month long prompt lists into one and write dabbles with a shitty doodle to accompany it.





	1. Day 1: Guardian Spirit of Fire + Poisonous + Pumpkins

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah if you read the summary, happy october I'm doing too many events this month and I've combined Keith Month, the official Inktober, and Katlantis' Keithtober prompts into this messy self collaboration. 
> 
>  
> 
> **Prompts:**
> 
> 1\. Guardian Spirit of Fire + Poisonous + Pumpkins
> 
> 2\. Family + Tranquil + Mermaids
> 
> 3\. Space Wolf + Roasted + Witches
> 
> 4\. Honesty / Deceit + Spell + Coffee
> 
> 5\. Luxite blade + Chicken + Magic
> 
> 6\. Rebel Fire + Drooling + Spiders
> 
> 7\. Lions + Exhausted + Warm clothing
> 
> 8\. Free Day + Star + Costumes
> 
> 9\. Pilot + Precious + Garrison
> 
> 10\. Blade of Marmora + Flowing + Vampires
> 
> 11\. Siblings-in-arms + Cruel + Movies 
> 
> 12\. Frenemies + Whale + Candy 
> 
> 13\. “It was an honor to meet you.” + Guarded + Sunset
> 
> 14\. The Red Paladin + Clock + Cuddles
> 
> 15\. Sweet tooth + Weak + Free Day 
> 
> 16\. Flowers + Angular + Past
> 
> 17\. Crossover + Swollen + Future
> 
> 18\. Free Day + Bottle + Ghost
> 
> 19\. Galaxy Garrison + Scorched + Autumn 
> 
> 20\. Quintessence + Breakable + Home
> 
> 21\. “He was a real hero.” + Drain + Pets
> 
> 22\. Childhood + Expensive + Superhero
> 
> 23\. “I left you once. I‘ll never leave you again.” + Muddy + Birthday
> 
> 24\. Dreams + Chop + Dessert
> 
> 25\. Touch/Affection + Prickly + Bonfire
> 
> 26\. Another Planet + Stretch + Soulmate
> 
> 27\. “Two wonderful things coming together to make
> 
> 28\. Free Day + Gift + Sweaters you.” + Thunder + Moon
> 
> 29\. “You fight like a Galra” + Double + Werewolf
> 
> 30\. Two Years + Jolt + Free Day
> 
> 31\. Halloween + Slice + Trick or Treat

On a normal day he would not have even _thought_ of going into the forest, but dire situations required unfortunate sacrifices. There was no reason on a normal day for him to enter the forest, the realm was the responsibility of the Earth Guardian Spirit. But this morning when Keith did his usual, necessary rituals as current Fire Guardian Spirit incarnation, there was something wrong. Deeply wrong. The Omnipotent Spirit was displeased, and for whatever reason _Keith_ was the one who had to figure out what was wrong.

He didn't understand why it chose him over Pidge, the Earth Guardian Spirit's incarnation, when he was led into the forest, but he'd learned not to question it anymore. Even when he did get answers, they weren't clear anyway and more of something that you’d find inscripted in a stationary set.

Being the chosen vessel of the Fire Guardian didn’t get rid of all of the rest of Keith’s responsibilities— namely high school, after all he was only eighteen— but immediately after school he biked to the forest, which was only a few minutes away from the school. The minute that he arrived in front of it a hazy wave of nausea hit him.

Keith let the bike fall distractedly, almost dropping it on his ankle.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

Keith usually avoided the forest, there were bugs and he didn’t want to accidentally offend anything by being there— last time he ended up with twenty bug bites on his ass because Pidge had tricked him into stepping on some sacred flower— but he’d been past it enough to know that there was something really, _really_ wrong with it today.

The trees were drooping, almost curling into themselves instead of standing tall and proud. Despite it still being early afternoon there was no light past the first five or so feet, and the normal chittering of animals was completely muted. As he climbed over the fence, the feeling of unease only grew stronger and his skin prickled in anticipation, ready to summon the Fire Guardian’s powers at any moment.

The colors were duller somehow when Keith walked up to the nearest tree. The leaves at the base were entirely dried and shriveled up already, all having fallen at least two weeks ago but there were several still on the tree as well.

And then he saw the first entirely grey spot.

It was a small patch of leaves closer to the trunk of the great oak, so small that Keith probably wouldn’t have noticed it if all of the bugs seemed to be recoiling away. They were completely void, as if a monochrome filter had been placed over that specific patch and now nothing would dare come near it.

Keith reached out a tentative hand to the leaf. His fingers were about to brush the closest leaf when the pounding in his head flared, stronger than before. He could feel the Fire Guardian’s hiss of pain as well, and Keith staggered away with wide eyes.

What was powerful enough to make one of the Elemental Guardians shrink away?

And then another patch caught his eye, a small dandelion by the trunk of a tree a few more feet away. It had the same voidness as the leaves, the blades of grass around it turning away as well. After that one it was like he couldn’t stop seeing them. A bird’s nest, infants still squealing silently with no escape from it. Part of the root of a tree. A wild hibiscus.

“Guardian of Fire,” a voice said from behind him. Keith turned around to see the Omnipotent Spirit herself floating in a magenta mist, her platinum hair in a neat bun and a concerned frown on her lips. “Something has corrupted the heart of the forest, poisoned it. See that it is restored before the balance of life and death is thrown into disarray and the flame is extinguished.”

Before Keith could reply she was gone, leaving Keith alone in the too-quiet forest. He sighed. This wasn’t unusual. The Omnipotent Spirit loved to spring new, high staked, and a bit impossible quests on all of the Guardian Spirits and their vessels without explanation, and always at the worst times.

Just another day for a part time Elemental Guardian Spirit.

“If I fail my chemistry midterm, it’s on you,” Keith said to the air before reaching to pull his phone from his pocket.

> **Keith, 3:18 PM**  
>  pidge something’s wrong w your forest and her royal highness wants me to fix it for some reason
> 
> **Keith, 3:18 PM**  
>  Got to go save the world from doom and darkness again or something who needs sleep anyway when you’re stopping angry demons from corrupting your life force or whatever ig
> 
> **Pidge, 3:19 PM**  
>  Yeah saw that yesterday :// gl man apparently you’ve got to go fight some salamander demons
> 
> **Keith, 3:20 PM**  
>  Ugh
> 
> **Pidge, 3:20 PM**  
>  Also the trees said something about a magical pumpkin rotting somewhere so I'd probably look for that
> 
> **Keith, 3:21 PM**  
>  uGH

He tucked his phone away and went over to pick up his bike again. “Salamander demons, huh?” Keith mused, pushing the kickstand up again. There was work to be done.


	2. Day 2: Family + Tranquil + Mermaids

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The oh so original mermaid au thing that the prompts demanded ft. I'm inept at anatomy drawing oops

Today was unusual. Heavy storms clouded the skies above the small lagoon in which Keith lived with his mother on most days, something that both protected them from ill intending humans and also suppressed them beneath the surface. Those clouds were nowhere in sight today though, and the two of them swam up to the cluster of rocks, soaking in the rare sunlight as they perched up onto the warm stone. Their tails were strong and thick from being high ranking members of the Marmoran Clan, one of the strongest clans of merpeople that were known in the seas, and so they were unperturbed by the roughness of the sharp rocks.

Keith’s father had been a human and died long ago, maybe forty years ago, though time worked differently for the merpeople. They aged differently than humans, their lifespans much longer and time more flexible. Even at the age of eighty now, Keith was still just a guppie.

Looking out now over the horizon, Keith found himself thinking about his father, what he’d think if he knew that Keith had found his mother and was now a part of her clan. That he’d learned to shift into his mer-form. He’d enjoy this view, of the rocks twinkling under the sunlight, the water brushing up on them occasionally, the small sea creatures thriving in the small crevices. If he were still alive, there was so much that Keith wished to show him.

He glanced over at his mother. She was toying with a large pale shell, sharp nails retracted as she studied it with a small, nostalgic smile. As if sensing Keith looking at her, Krolia looked up at Keith and held up the shell. “Your father, he loved these. Conch shells, he called them. He claimed you could hear the sea in it. That’s obviously untrue, but he’d looked so happy talking about them so I never corrected it.”

Krolia shrugged, going quiet again.

The two remained sitting there until the sky began to fade into a fuchsia, not speaking but not feeling the need to.

It had been a good day, a nice reprieve from their usual hunting duties in Marmora and the dark that plagued their skies. Keith carefully tucked the conch shell into his chest of belongings with his-- unfortunately, now extremely outdated-- human clothes that evening before going back out for his perimeter patrol shift.


	3. Day 3: Space Wolf + Roasted + Witches

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> technically it isn't 12 yet. also this is crack produced by my sleep deprivation idk what happened

He had to be in some sort of intense fever right now, or in a weird space hole that put him into some little hellscape like Garfle Warfle Snick. There was no other explanation. How else would Keith be sitting by this lake in the middle of the mountains with a basket of rabbit shaped rice crackers, his wolf, and _Haggar_.

 

And she wasn’t trying to kill him either.

 

All she seemed interested in doing was sipping her tea calmly and feeding Kosmo one of the rice crackers. The hood remained over her eyes, her were still shoulders hunched over and hands shaky, but Haggar looked entirely content. And entirely unperturbed but the current situation.

 

To be honest, it was freaking Keith out a bit. His hand remained hovering at his side, ready and braced for her attack. There was one coming, there had to be. If Haggar expected Keith to just kick back and enjoy the afternoon so she could catch him off guard and try to kill him or steal the Black Lion– sitting a few feet away from them, also completely calm– then she was stupid.

 

Haggar looked up suddenly and nodded towards the wicker basket holding the crackers. “Go on,” she croaked, “take one. I insist. They were Lotor's favorite when he was a boy, you know.”

 

Her already present frown deepened as she probably remembered her son, and then Keith was reaching for one of the crackers, guilt and sympathy creeping over him. He hadn't been the biggest fan of Lotor, but he still should not have died the way he did and believed he was doing the right thing. And yet Voltron had left him there.

 

Kosmo crawled over Haggar's lap and sniffed at the basket, panting excitedly when instead of a cracker Keith pulled out a roasted chicken sandwich. Keith stared at it in half surprise, half exasperation, because of course there were also sandwiches in the basket. He let Kosmo take the sandwich and turned back to Haggar, who had pushed back her hair and was daintily eating a chicken leg.

 

“Alright, what is even happening right now,” he said, watching Kosmo in fascination as his fur began to take on a light pink hue and stood up as if electrified. It was more to himself than anything, but Haggar answered anyway.

 

“We are having a picnic,” she stated patiently. She peeled off the skin and held it out to him. “Would you like this? It's an odd texture, I will never fully understand customary Earthen food.”

 

“That's not– but why– alright fine,” Keith surrendered, placing it on a napkin. Questioning it unfortunately wasn’t doing much to help, so he might as well just go with it.

 

And so Keith did. They sat in silence, eating chicken and cookies, and everything else in the basket that magically appeared. Keith didn’t even freak out too much when Kosmo began to speak in a voice disturbingly similar sounding to Danny Devito.

 

When he ended up back in his lion, he only shrugged when his fellow paladins questioned what had happened. Apparently what had been at least a couple hours for Keith was only a minute or two of silence to the others. It was odd, but it was space and so nothing made sense. And who knew, maybe next time they had to fight Haggar she’d go easy on them and maybe not turn Keith’s friends into mindless machines as thanks for Keith letting her eat the last sprinkled sugar cookie.


End file.
